Starting Fires
by SugarCubesForFinnick
Summary: This is a story about Johanna. It starts after she won her Games and goes until the beginning of the 3rd Quarter Quell.


Johanna looked up at Tanner with a careful, measured look. She had returned from her Victory Tour just a few hours ago, and this was the first time she had been alone with him since before her games. Since that day long ago in the Justice Building. He had been crying, not sobbing like someone who had lost hope, but tears slid down his face silently. They were tears of sadness, not because he had written her off, but because he knew that even if she survived, she would have to kill, and she would never be the same.

Now, she was the one who was crying. She had played the weakling in her games, she knew how to command her eyes to unleash tears, but now when they were real, she couldn't make stop. "Tanner…" She reached out a hand to him, but he pushed it away.

"Stop it, Johanna! Did you think this would be something you could just cover up? Did you think you could cry your way out of it? I had considered the possibility of you dying, I had considered the possibility of you coming home broken, I had considered so many things, but not this. I never thought you would just throw everything we had away. I thought I meant more to you than that!" He started to walk away, back through the woods to his home.

"Tanner!" she cried, in the voice of a girl who was broken beyond repair. "Please, Tanner!" He didn't turn back.

She arrived back at her house in the Victor's Village just after the sun had set. The door slammed loudly behind her and the whole house shook. Her mother, who had been cooking dinner, rushed over. Her large brown eyes were filled with concern. "Johanna honey, what's wrong?"

All Johanna could manage to say was, "I need the phone." Her mother helped her into the study and sat her down in the chair next to the phone. "Close the door, okay?"

"Of course, Johanna. Just let me know if you need anything." And then she disappeared into the hallway.

Johanna quickly punched numbers into the mechanical device. It rang a few times, and then a woman on the other end picked up. "Hello, President Snow's office, how may I help you?"

"It's Johanna Mason. I need to set up an appointment with President Snow."

"Miss Mason, the president is very busy. He doesn't have time to meet with people in the districts, surely you know this."

"Fine. Just tell him our deal's off then." She pressed the off button before the woman could respond. Once she replaced the phone, she crumpled in the chair and cried for hours. At around ten her mother came and carried her to the bathroom.

"I made a bath for you. It's nice and warm. It'll make you feel better." She lifted her daughter into the tub after stripping her out of her clothes. "I'll leave your things folded right here."

The door closed, but from the hallway Johanna could hear her little brother. "Mommy, what's wrong with Johanna?"

"Your sister's strong, but she's had to deal with more than anyone's capable of. Give her some space for a little while, alright?"

"Is she gonna get better?"

"I hope so."

Johanna awoke the next morning in her bed. The blankets and sheets were strewn on the floor from her kicking in her sleep. Her nights were filled with nightmares now. She may have won, but she could never escape the Hunger Games.

Downstairs, breakfast was on the table and her parents and brother were seated and eating. Her father looked up when he heard her footsteps. "Hey, good morning. I was worried I was going to have to wake you myself soon. Come over here and have some breakfast. Your mother's cooking is great when she has good food to work with."

She walked over and sat down quietly. Her father filled a plate for her complete with bacon, eggs, toast, and fruit. She picked at the plate and ate all but the eggs, so her father finished them for her. Her family all talked about the latest news in the district. Apparently their old neighbors were having a baby. Johanna couldn't understand why anyone would have a baby in a cruel world like this. In her opinion, the less people in this world, the better. They continued to gush about the plans for the child, and she couldn't take it anymore. She stood up and started towards the door. "I'm going for a walk." Just as she was almost outside, she felt a tug at her leg.

Her brother was hugging her tightly. "I love you, Johanna. Please get better." She felt tears spring to her eyes, but she held them back. No more crying.

"I love you too." She crouched down to give him a real hug. "I'll see you soon."

Then she headed towards the forests. It was a Sunday, so no one was out working. She spent a few hours throwing axes around. It made her feel safer, more powerful, to be able to throw the weapons. It held off the nightmares a bit because even during the daytime they wouldn't leave her head. When she grew tired of this, she made her way to Tanner's house. Maybe he would listen now. Maybe she could finally get the words out right. Maybe she could explain to him how horrible the Capitol really was.

When she got there, she only had to knock once on the door before it was flung open by Tanner's mother. She was a tall woman; bone-thin with eyes the same golden brown as her son's. She wore a puzzled expression as she saw Johanna. "Hey, is Tanner here? I really need to talk to him."

"No, he went to your house about an hour ago. I figured you were with him."

"I've been in the woods." Worry started to set in, but she wasn't quite sure why. Tanner probably just stopped by the market when he realized she wasn't home. Still, fear was gripping her tightly, squeezing her lungs until it became hard to breathe. "I'll go see if he's at my house."

Tanner's mother replied in some way, but Johanna was already running towards Victor's Village and couldn't hear her words. She was having trouble breathing still, but fear pushed her legs faster. Tanner was in trouble. People gave her worried glances as she passed, but most just dismissed it as an effect of the Games. Victors often came back a little mad. They would revert farther and farther into their own confused and terrified minds. Johanna didn't feel crazy right now though, she felt perfectly sane. The fear pulling at her heart felt so real, so extremely, terrifyingly real, that it couldn't be due to insanity.

When she finally rounded the corner and caught sight of her house, she knew her fear had been justified. Her new perfect house in the Victor's Village was ablaze with flames.

"NO!" The word ripped itself from her throat and it came out as more of an animal noise than a human one. A crowd was beginning to gather, and they all looked at her sadly. "Someone do something!" She screamed at them, but even as she said it, she knew nothing could be done. There was no water source big enough to put out this fire. Everyone was probably dead already anyway. They stood and watched, and soon enough most of the district was there. Johanna sank down to the dirt floor beneath her and wept. The arena was nothing compared to this. Real torture came from watching those you loved die. Eventually, the fire died down on its own. In fact, it seemed to die too quickly for it to be natural. It was almost like someone had turned the flames off. Like the fancy dimming lights in the Capitol.

Johanna knew the ruins of the house would be hot, but she didn't care. She walked straight up to the mess of burnt wood, glowing with still alive embers. When she did, she noticed a small white envelope, right where the front door would have been, somehow undamaged by the flames. She opened it and read the crisp paper inside.

_Johanna,_

_I hope this makes things clear. No one defies the Capitol. Not even its beloved victors._

There was no signature, but the paper smelled distinctly of roses and blood. Johanna turned and threw up at the scent. She wanted to get rid of the paper, but she couldn't for some reason, so she tucked it into her pocket. Then she walked forward into the rubble of her house. Her face became stained with the black dust of the fire, and her tears left shiny paths of white down her cheeks. She found her mother, her father, her brother, and Tanner. All of them dead. It was completely her fault. She should have quietly played along with President Snow's game. That's all she was anyway, a piece in his game. She was trapped. Once you're in the game, there is no way out. All you can do is play by the rules, because there is no chance of winning.

Her house was rebuilt, and she spent her days alone. She didn't have many friends to start with, and any that may have tried to comfort her, she pushed away. Eventually, no one tried. They gave up on the lonely victor.

However, Johanna didn't give up on herself. Some victors turned to alcohol or drugs. Not Johanna. Her official talent, for the Capitol's purposes, was acting. She appeared on some of their television specials as a special guest. Of course, while she spent her time in the Capitol President Snow had other plans for her as well.

When the Hunger Games came around again, she was a mentor. She was only seventeen herself, and her tributes were fifteen and sixteen. Another victor from District Seven, Blight, mentored them as well. Blight had been Johanna's mentor, and she trusted his advice, but had never really grown close to the man. She realized fairly quickly that her tributes didn't stand a chance. They were small and underfed, and unlike her they didn't have a natural ability for killing. She gave them the best advice she could, but she didn't have much hope.

On her first day as a mentor, she had to prepare them for the opening ceremonies. She told them to be good for the stylists. She reminded them they were only trying to help, but honestly she knew that wasn't true. The District Seven stylists were awful. Her tributes would be dressed as trees. Again. As she waited for the stylists to do their job, a boy approached her, not much older than she was.

"Hey, you're Johanna right?" It was more of a statement than a question. His tone left no question that he knew who she was. He popped a sugar cube in his mouth as he waited for her reply.

"Yeah. And you are?" She in fact knew who he was. No one could forget the famous Finnick Odair so easily. She hoped to hurt his pride though.

"Only the most handsome mentor you'll ever meet. You know who I am though, so I won't bother introducing myself. Don't think you can fool me so easily."

"So, what do you want, Odair? I'm assuming you're not here to make alliances?"

"Sadly you're right. Sorry, but your tributes don't look like they'll be helping anybody out of that arena."

"Sadly, I'm aware. I'm just hoping they'll die quickly. So, why are you talking to me, Odair?"

"Well, you're the only other mentor here who isn't old or from Districts One or Two. Even if our tributes don't make an alliance, how about we do?"

"By that do you mean you want to be friends?"

"Well, who else can we be friends with? It's not like it's easy getting close to people back in our districts, right?" Johanna saw something in his eyes as he said it. Some hidden meaning. She understood exactly what he meant though. Finnick Odair, the victor famous for his promiscuity in the Capitol, had suffered the same threats she had. He spent his nights with his fans in the Capitol to protect his own loved ones.

"Do you have any friends back home, Finnick?" He seemed to understand the meaning of the question.

"Only one. There are a lot of accidents in District Four. My family drowned on a fishing trip." He says the words slowly, sadly.

"There are accidents in District Seven, too. Recently the conditions must have been too hot. A fire sparked in my new house."

"I'm really sorry." He meant it. Finnick knew what Johanna was really telling him. Her family was gone.

"I don't know what you're sorry for, but thanks anyway. It's not like you set the fire."

"No, but maybe a fire is just what we need." He stared off into the distance as he said it, and now Johanna was completely lost.

"Finnick?" He snapped back to the present.

"It's nothing."

Eventually, Johanna learned what Finnick had meant that day. As she met more of the victors, she became a part of a secret inner circle. Every year, at the Games, they would meet and talk about conditions in their districts. They discreetly told the others of news. They gave information on how far the rebellion was spreading. It was a quiet rebellion for now. Just the embers of an old fire, heated and dangerous, but not stirred back to life yet.

They all did as much as they could to feed the whispers. They shared the horror stories of their own Games with others. They forced out the nightmares that haunted them in their sleep. Anything to get others to listen. Anything to get them to take a stand. Johanna didn't have friends in District Seven, but she did have admirers. They clung to her words and wanted to help. She told them, for now, to just spread the word. The time would come soon enough, though even she didn't know how soon.

All of Panem was ready. The country was a thin layer of ice, ready to break at any moment from the heat of the coals. The star-crossed lovers from District Twelve had made the nation even more desperate. Then, Johanna's world came crashing down. She watched the President read out the card for the third Quarter Quell, not understanding its significance for a few moments after she clicked the television off. Then, she realized. She was going back to the arena.

A few months later she stood by her carriage and horses, dressed in the silly tree outfit once again. She was tense, ready to attack, ready to fight, until she saw a familiar face make its way over to her. His gorgeous body was covered in only fishing net, but his face wore a smirk. He popped a sugar cube in his mouth, and turned to her with excitement in his voice. "Ready to start our own fire? It's the Capitol's chance to burn."


End file.
